The Clepsydra

Chapter 9

Clarisse quietly exits the guest room, her steps down the stairs audible from my room because everyone around me is absorbed in their own thoughts.

James puts the pouch of dried herbs into the drawer next to my bed and goes again to sit on the lounging chair in the bay window while Evie takes a seat next to me, placing her hand on my back and quietly speaking to me.

“Did they hurt you anywhere dear?”

I simply shake my head before speaking, my voice cracking like I had been screaming for 3 hours straight. “What would have happened to me in the present if something had happened to me back then?”

“That's a bit complicated dear. You would have gotten the same injuries with the same severity but coming back from the Crossover with an injury differs between different Clepsydra. For some, it inhibits their ability to relax enough because the pain causes them to lose focus, while for others it can cause them to come back to the present without meaning to since their body triggers their brain to act...like when you fall off a cliff or something in a dream and you wake up. Other Clepsydra could have a different reaction altogether.”

I look down at my arms, seeing the scratches from all my falls to the floor and red, raw skin around my wrists where the rope had bound them. I also feel a nice, solid bruise forming on the side of my face where ‘Red Cheeks’ had hit me.

I know they will be gone in a couple of hours due to my inhuman healing but that doesn’t make them hurt any less now.

Evie gets up, pulling me up from where I sit with Aidan. James gets up from his seat on the lounging chair too, taking the daisy blanket off the bed and giving it to Genevieve. She drapes it over my shoulders before leading me towards the door out of my room, Aidan and his dad on our heels.

Evie continues leading me down the stairs, making her way towards the lounge area from earlier tonight. “I hope Clarisse has filled the kettle to the top, think we all might need extra large mugs of tea.”

We walk through the doorway and take a seat on the couch. Evie gets me settled with the blanket covering my legs as I make myself comfortable. Aidan takes the seat next to me but Evie and James remain standing.

“I’m going to help Clarisse with the tea. James, could you get the medicine box again and Aidan, get some more of that salve on Lena that you used on her ankle.” With that she turned and left the room, James following close behind.

Aidan gets up off the seat to retrieve the tub of the nice-smelling, cold cream. He sits back down and opens the tub, making the room smell like the pine and mint mixture all over again.

The fire from earlier has died, but the burning embers glowing in the fireplace still provide enough warmth to keep away the cold which seems to be seeping into my very core.

I pull the daisy blanket closer around me, shivering slightly despite the warmth slowly returning to my body. I still can’t believe what had happened barely a half an hour ago but the skin throbbing on the side of my face makes it hard to think about anything else.